Project description

Title: Improvement of Energy Efficiency of the Water Authority of Jordan (IEE)
Commissioned by: German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU)
Country: Jordan
Lead executing agency: Water Authority of Jordan
Overall term: 2008 to 2010

Context

The Water Authority of Jordan (WAJ) is the largest electricity consumer in Jordan, using about 15% of Jordan’s total electricity production. Electricity consumption is therefore not only a major cost factor for WAJ, but also causes substantial carbon emissions as Jordan’s power supply is based almost entirely on fossil fuels. The hydraulic conditions necessitate that fresh water is pumped 1,400 metres from the Jordan Valley to reach the country's big cities. However, huge technical inefficiency in the operation of water pumps is one of the main reasons for WAJ’s high electricity consumption.

Objective

The IEE Project is the first step towards technical, institutional and economic innovation in energy performance contracting for Jordan's water sector in cooperation with private actors. The German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU) is funding the IEE Project under the International Climate Initiative. Its objective is to establish a contractual relationship and partnership between energy service companies (ESC) and the Water Authority of Jordan in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The project is a cornerstone of the Jordanian economy's endeavours to become more energy efficient. It reduces the burden on an already overstretched electricity generation sector, lowers the energy costs for WAJ while supporting climate change mitigation efforts through targeted investment and carbon efficient technology flows. The project is being implemented in close cooperation with the German-Jordanian Management of Water Resources Programme. The objective of the project is thus threefold: to make pumping operations more energy efficient, to develop and test the operator model for energy contracting at pumping stations and to lower the risk for future private sector investments in such projects. The IEE project will help to reduce the Water Authority of Jordan's costs by almost JD 1 million per year and lower the country's CO2 emissions by approx. 20,000 tonnes per year by combining private sector investments and official development assistance.

Approach

In the first project phase GTZ is conducting an energy audit to analyse electricity consumption and improvement potential for major electricity consumers in the three governorates of Balqa, Madaba and Zarqa. Institutional concepts and respective contracts will then be developed based on the energy audit's technical measures in order to support the implementation of resulting measures. In phase two these measures will be implemented and investments will be made in selected pumping stations as well as indifferent measures to stimulate private sector involvement.

Results achieved so far

The first results from the energy audit confirm an electricity saving potential of 20% to 40% and suggest structured measures to achieve improvements at the different pumping stations that were analysed. Ecological and economical inefficiencies are frequently caused by inappropriately designed and operated pumps, but also by inadequate maintenance and repair processes. In parallel to the energy audit, negotiations with the private sector are well underway and a first pilot to test the energy contracting operator model for WAJ pumping stations will start in the middle of 2009.